The present invention relates to a molding process and apparatus which eliminates the need for large quantities of molding boxes.
It is known in the prior art to use molding boxes which consist of upper boxes and lower boxes for the production of metal castings. These molding boxes are fed to a molding machine where the upper box and lower box are filled with molding sand to form a mold from a pattern of the piece to be cast. After the insertion of cores and the attachment of pouring cups, the upper box and lower box are put together by means of bolts or the like and the molding boxes are sent in succession to a casting machine where metal is introduced into the mold. After the casting of molten metal, the molding boxes are sent on along a cooling line at the end of which the molding boxes are emptied and the castings are separated from the molding sand. The empty molding boxes are returned again to the molding machine. A typical molding plant is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,029,482.
After casting, depending on wall thickness and size, the castings need a relatively long period of time until they are cooled sufficiently in order for them to be removed from the molding boxes and separated from the molding sand. This results in a long cooling line and a very large quantity of molding boxes all of which adds to the expense of the molding plant.
It is, therefore, the principle object of the present invention to create a molding process and a molding apparatus which reduces the quantity of molding boxes in circulation.